11. Kairos Palestine responds to Amb. Michael Oren (March 20, 2012)

(On March 9, Israeli Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, contributed an article entitled, "Israel and the Plight of Mideast Christians," which was published in the Wall Street Journal. There have been several responses to that article from Palestinian Christians and others. The following response was issued on March 17, by Kairos Palestine.)

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"Kairos Palestine, a group of Palestinian Christians who co-authored the document ďA Moment of Truth,Ē denounces Michael Orenís recent op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal (9 March 2012). In this inaccurate and manipulative text, Oren, Israelís ambassador to the US, blames the plight of Palestinian Christians on oppression at the hands of Palestinian Muslims -- rather than at the hands of the illegal Israeli occupation itself, as is our reality.

We add our voices to several other recently published responses that have emphasized this reality and the ways in which Orenís op-ed attempts to mask it. Indeed, contrary to his assertions, Christian persecution is caused mainly by the occupation that systematically degrades all Palestinians, restricts our movement, confiscates our land, devastates our economy, and violates our rights -- including the very basic right to a decent life.

We are particularly troubled by Orenís attribution of migration within the Palestinian Christian community to ill-treatment by Palestinian Muslims. This damaging analysis wilfully ignores the underlying political oppression that afflicts Christians and Muslims alike. In the case of Bethlehem, for instance, it is in fact the rampant construction of Israeli settlements, the chokehold imposed by the separation wall, and the Israeli governmentís confiscation of Palestinian land -- largely Christian-owned land in the Bethlehem area -- that has driven many Christians to leave. At present, a mere 13% of Bethlehem-area land is left to its Palestinian inhabitants.

Orenís article also reveals a disturbing conception of democracy itself, especially as he insists on emphasizing Israelís democratic character. In attempting to highlight ways in which Israel supposedly seeks to protect the survival and encourage the prosperity of the Christian community, Oren implies the Israeli stateís lack of interest in ensuring the same for Muslims. Democracy is not selective. Any democratic state that bothered to implement its own ideals -- and, moreover, any ambassador to such a state -- would be ashamed of such an evidently distorted attitude toward its inhabitants and their rights."